Livid Block NE front
Livid block NE top
Livid creators of the Block & Ohm64 controllers have teamed up with Nova musik to create a cool new block paint job. The new block has an all black enclosure with black anodized aluminum faceplate and green LED’s.
The block NE is limited edition, costs $399 (USD) and is availible from Nova musik.
Heres a video showing what the LED’s look like.
Akai APC20
Big news from the Akai camp for winter NAMM in the form of the APC20, the APC40’s little brother. The APC20 is a stripped down version of the APC40, losing all the knobs, buttons, transport controls and crossfader. This obviously reduces the size by about a third but also reduces the price with a retail of $299 and an expected street price of $199, a lot cheaper than the APC40.
The APC20 has kept much of the flexabilty of the APC40 with most of the functions performed by the knobs being intergrated into the APC20 in the form of selectable user modes. Transport controls as well as device control have been kept but you have to switch between them using the shift button. The faders then act as a multi function controller aswell as normal mixer faders. There is also a new note mode where the button matrix doubles as a note trigger mode for playing instruments or triggering devices etc.
For most APC40 owners this is a bit of a waste of time for Akai as you lose the knobs which is one of the best things about the APC40 over the Novation launchpad. The APC20 could just end up as a launchpad with faders but is not quite as flexable and more expensive. The APC20 can be used in conjunction with an APC40 to create an extended button grid.
Korg nano controllers
Korg have released a series of nano controllers the nanoPAD, nanoKEY and nanoKONTROL. The controllers are designed to be small and compact for use in live performance.
Korg nanoPAD
The nanopad is a drum pad controller similar to an Akai MPD or korg padkontrol. it has 12 drum pads and an X Y touch pad. I must admit it looks like this could be very useful, especially the X Y pad for Ableton live.
Korg nanoKEY
The nanoKEY is a 25 note, velocity sensitive, 2 octave midi keyboard with mini, button like, keys. Not sure about this one although it could be useful in some situations but i would even attempt to play it.
Korg nanoKONTROL
The nanoKONTROL is a control surface with nine faders, nine knobs, 18 switches and a full transport section. this could be very useful for a lightweight control surface whether it’s for live work or in the studio.
All the nano series come with bundled software, with the nanoKEY you get korgs M1 LE synth, with the nanoPAD you get Toontrack’s EZDrummer Lite and with the nanoKONTROL you get a discount coupon for Ableton live LE software. All the nano series come with a parameter and midi CC editor/libary which would be useful for custom control setups.
Perhaps the most attractive thing about these products is the price, the nanoPAD retails at about £40 ($60), the nanoKEY about £35 ($55) and the nanoKONTROL £40 ($60). In comparison with other midi controllers on the market these are very cheap, which makes me worry about the quality but i’ll find out very soon as at £40 for a lightweight drum pad controller, i couldn’t resist and ordered one.
The nano series looks to be a promising product due to the size and weight of it making it ideal for live performance. The price is also very attractive but i’ll wait and see whether Korg have skipped out on the quality of the product. I’ll be reviewing the nanoPAD very soon and probably the nanoKONTROL too. In the meantime heres a video review of the nanoPAD.
Merry Christmas
How to maximize your laptop battery life for music
Fed up of your laptop battery not lasting long enough? Are you having to switch to mains power half way through a gig. Well this tutorial will show you how you can maximise your laptops battery life for music.
If you don’t already use or know about midi controllers then your missing out, especially if you use a laptop live. Midi controllers are extremely useful and very fun to use to. Many people get confused when reading manufacturers blurbs about midi controllers as they usually confuse the reader with buzz words and complicated sentences, trying to make the product sound better than it is. Well we have written this article to combat all the mumbo jumbo and give you the facts and hopefully help you understand what a midi controller is, what it can do, the different types and what you can use them for.
There are various ways to connect an audio interface to your computer. Each way has positive and negative points and depending on your computer, your options may be limited. If you are buying an new computer or audio interface then it’s important that you read this article so you can understand which connection is best for you and why.
How much RAM or memory your computer has greatly effects how fast your your computer can perform. It’s especially important to music software as they eat it up very quickly. This article will inform you about the different types and how much you will need, plus where’s the cheapest to buy it.
Having a good hard drive in your computer is extremely important for making and performing music. All your audio, plugins, software etc is stored on the hard drive so it is very important that it’s good quality and fast enough for music demands. This article will cover all you need to know about hard drives so you can get the right one for your setup.
In this tutorial we look at the different tyoes of EQ and how they work. Using the right EQ for the right job is important plus it will help to understand what the different EQ types do when buying an EQ.
